Imbalance
by Nsu-Yeul
Summary: With a heart of light, Sora is living a simple life post-Xemnas alongside his closest friend, Riku. However, the arrival of a new philosophy professor at their school triggers a series of events that may irrevocably change the fate of Destiny Islands and the worlds. No shipping.
1. Good Questions

_Imbalance _by Nsu-Yeul

**Chapter One: Good Questions**

"My name is Sora, Class 12-B. 17 years old, and what else? Oh yeah, my hobbies include swimming, rowing, and recently astrophysics."

Some of my classmates snorted or chuckled at my last hobby. Most of them probably thought the astrophysics bit was a joke, meant to throw off our new Philosophy professor. Cheery brawn, that's how they recognized me. Traversing the worlds as the Keyblade Master can change a person, though.

The new teacher, Professor Nabaat, either missed the jeers or decided to disregard them. With a curt nod of recognition in my direction, she slid her hazel gaze to the next student in line, my closest friend Riku. Her glasses glinted a little beneath the classroom's fluorescent lights.

I took a quick seat as Riku rose to give his own introduction. "I'm Riku, Class 12-B. 18 years old. My hobbies include hand-to-hand combat and…" He paused, as though weighing his words. "I like philosophy."

One row of desks below us, Tidus rolled his upturned eyes. No one else reacted. Riku wasn't the type to kiss up, after all. It just so happened that he had a genuine interest in Professor Nabaat's subject. Even so, she made no motion of approval or disapproval toward him. Her eyes moved on to the next student, like factory products down the assembly line.

There were twenty-six students in Class 12-B. Riku's desk was near the halfway mark. All the students knew each other well at this point in our schooling; movement in or out of Destiny Islands was a rarity. In fact, Nabaat's sudden arrival had already caused a stir throughout the Big Island. She'd come to fill the position of an old favorite, Professor Jyscal, who'd retired mid-year. He had a hard fall going down the steps between class periods. Instead of taking a leave of absence, he chose, in his old age, to step down for good. Exit Jyscal; enter the much younger Nabaat from somewhere across the ocean. Another world, I wondered.

The sun spilled across the floor from the far window. Its rays filled Nabaat's silvery blond hair like light in a lampshade. The glow came about at the end of the last student introduction. Right away, Nabaat tapped a pointer three times on the teacher's desk, drawing any distracted students' attention back to her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. I have many names to remember in a short amount of time, so forgive me if I make any errors. Names are specific, and the subject matter on which I focus is far more abstract. You may be interested in finished products, like an algebraic equation or a five-minute mile. If that is your personality, then hear me now: You _will_ struggle in philosophy. It's your job to undo your five senses and relearn your intuition."

Her lenses swept the full width of the classroom with one swift turn of the head. "Now then, are there any questions you have for me before we begin any actual learning in today's lesson?"

A brave, rose-haired girl raised her hand. Nabaat swirled her pointer in her direction, indicating permission to speak.

"Serah Farron, Ma'am. Where did you teach before coming to Destiny Prep?"

Nabaat sized Serah up. "I didn't teach," she said plainly. "I am a philosopher and a writer."

"What do you write?"

"I wrote what you will be studying. What all of you will be studying: _The Theory of Imbalance_. Your headmaster has already informed me that Jyscal has more than supplied you with knowledge of the basics—Descartes, Rousseau, and the like. Now, it's time to delve deeper into the questions of the worlds."

Worlds? It was rare that inhabitants of Destiny Islands referred to more than one world. If Nabaat knew of other worlds, then the likelihood that she came from someplace other than ours had just increased. I glanced at Riku, hoping for a similar look of surprise. Instead, I found him peering intensely at Nabaat. He seemed almost entranced.

Tapping her pointer on the desk once more, Nabaat reclaimed our attention. "If there aren't any more questions, then we'll go on." Without a moment's pause, she continued: "Today we'll cover basics. What is an imbalance?"

A few hesitant hands shot up.

"Things that don't match."

"When one thing is less than another thing."

"If something has more."

Suddenly, Nabaat turned toward Riku. "How about you?" He startled, since he hadn't raised his hand.

"Are you talking about imbalance as in a distribution of resources or some kind of disequilibrium?" he asked.

A thin smile formed on her lips. "A good question." She wrote her own paraphrase of the question on the whiteboard behind her. "For the rest of this class period, I want all of you to _silently _write a response to Riku's question. What is the difference between an unequal distribution of resources and disequilibrium?"

As muffled groans filled the rows, I grudgingly opened my binder to a fresh piece of notebook paper. To my left, Riku was already writing.

* * *

><p>At three-thirty sharp, Destiny Preparatory's groundskeeper unlocked and swung open the perimeter gate, declaring the end of the school day. Standing in the hot spring sun, I slung my backpack over one shoulder, while Riku pulled whatever textbooks he needed for his homework out of his locker. He slipped <em>The Theory of Imbalance<em> into his bag. Professor Nabaat had passed out the thin book as a parting gift after collecting our essays.

"Nabaat didn't assign any reading for the weekend," I said.

Riku shrugged. "It seemed interesting. I might just take a look at what she has to say."

"That in-class essay was crazy though! I'd never even thought about the distribution of stuff or dis-e-quil-li-bri-um before." I pronounced the word carefully, so I wouldn't trip over any of its unfamiliar syllables.

Riku laughed, before giving me a playful knock on the forehead. "Then it's good you thought about it today."

"I just turned in a paper with two tripped-over definitions. Took me the whole thirty minutes to think of them. Let me guess, you had enough time to write five pages and proofread?"

"Giving people two different amounts of things isn't the same as the whole system being busted," he replied simply. I still didn't get it. Shutting his locker with a clang, Riku shifted his blue-glass gaze to me. "People can get by in a system that gives and takes unequally, but disequilibrium needs to be righted or else everything will come crashing down, like if one of your legs was half as long as the other."

Trying to hide my confusion, I casually switched my backpack to the other shoulder. "It's just philosophy, though. It's not real."

"Yeah."

"Sora! Riku!" cried a familiar voice. Kairi came barreling toward us, her auburn hair fanning out behind her. "I've been waiting for you guys by the gate forever. It's burning up. Let's go to the beach!"

"It'll be hotter at the beach," Riku replied, leaning against his locker as though the heat unfazed him.

"Not unless we go for a swim," I offered. "It's Friday. Let's stay out, grab sea salt ice cream. My parents won't be home till late anyway."

"You two go then," Riku said. "I have too much to do at home."

Kairi and I traded concerned glances. We both knew what Riku's home life looked like: lonely and full of housework. After Ansem's defeat and Destiny Islands' restoration, neither of his parents had returned from the darkness. Strangely, every single person had returned except them. Even so, Riku hadn't seemed all too shocked, and Kairi and I never asked any questions. We three tried our best to ignore any thought of the week before the fall of Destiny Islands—our rafting dreams, Kairi's lost heart, and Riku's darkness.

Ever the sensitive type, Kairi laid a soft hand on Riku's shoulder. "It wouldn't be the same without you. Let's save it for tomorrow? If we make plans, you can't ditch us!"

"All right. Tomorrow afternoon, then."

She nodded. "Okay. I guess I'll get all my homework done tonight."

"Don't even mention that," I added. "I don't want to do any of it! Except the physics maybe."

"I still can't believe you're into that now, Sora," said Kairi. "I can't believe you even understand it!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

We shared a quick laugh, at my expense, before setting off in separate directions. Kairi headed toward Selphie's locker; the two lived on the same street and typically walked home together. Riku made his way toward the school parking lot. The house his parents left him, maintained by a small inheritance, was located on the far side of the Big Island, so he'd purchased a motorbike before the start of the year. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to attend the same Preparatory School as me and Kairi. As usual, I walked over to the bike rack, not quite ready for the hot trip to my home near the cliffs.

* * *

><p>"I'm heading to bed!" I shouted as I rushed up the stairs, forgetting that neither of my parents were home.<p>

Every door in the upstairs hallway was shut. My parents weren't the tidiest people and liked to keep prying eyes out of their mess. I guess I'd inherited the same trait. Grasping the brass doorknob to my room, I tried to turn it only to find it jammed. Surprised, I tried to jiggle it, but it wouldn't budge, as though someone had filled it with super glue. Standing back against the hallway banister, I thought about breaking the door down, when suddenly the knob started to turn on its own accord. A flutter of shock flew up my stomach as the doorknob twisted and twisted for what seemed like forever. Then door pulled its own self open, outward into the hallway.

My bedroom yawned before me, large and completely different. I wanted my soft bed, the ocean blue wallpaper. Instead, I found tin walls perpendicular to tin floors, all beneath a gray tin ceiling. There were no tables, chairs, or windows. Thinking I should call my parents, I headed toward the stairs, but a force ushered me toward the room, like smoke hands thrusting me inside.

The door creaked to a close behind me. I heard the clunk of a key twisting in a keyhole—only there was no keyhole in my bedroom door. Then again, this clearly wasn't my bedroom anymore.

As seeds of panic began to sprout, its vines squeezing my chest in fear, I pounded my fists against the dark silver walls, hoping to find a way out. My hands met nothing but cold metal. I circled the room again and again, growing desperate, before I collapsed in the middle. Nestling my head into my knees, I wondered if anyone would find me here. How could this happen? Where were my friends? Where was Riku?

I remembered the beach on the Small Island, our childhood play place. After defeating Xemnas, Riku and I came ashore there, freed from Realm of Darkness, free to be home. We celebrated with Kairi, Goofy, Donald, and the King, all of us full of laughter and even a few tears. When nightfall came, and Riku and I had our first moment of rest, he'd told me:

"_Never again. I won't go off on my own. We fight together. From now on, I'll protect the Keyblade. I'm going to protect you."_

Clink. Clink. Clink. The sound came from the roof above me. Something, like a marble, fell upon the tin prison—once, twice, many times over. It kept falling, and I could no longer tell if it were coming from above or below or within my own skull. I covered my ears with my hands but the twang only seemed to grow in volume.

"Stop it…" I whispered. "Just… stop!"

My own shout echoed in my ears as my eyes snapped open. I could barely take it all in: an ocean blue ceiling, the moonlight spilling in from the window beside me. Something brushed against my leg, but it was only my blanket falling to the floor. I must have kicked it off in my sleep. The tin room, the awful noise—had it been a nightmare?

Clink.

My body bloomed with sweat. I turned to the window, just in time to see another pebble hit the glass. Confused, I tentatively crawled over, peeking out just slightly.

Riku stood on the dirt, a story beneath me, pebbles in hand. The stars shimmered in his eyes. Quickly, I unlatched the window and let in the fresh ocean-drenched air.

"What are you doing here?" I questioned, my heart still unable to rest.

"Sora!" he exclaimed. "You're still alive!"

* * *

><p>AN: Thank you for setting off on this new Kingdom Hearts adventure with me. This story is set immediately after Kingdom Hearts II but before coded & Dream Drop Distance. Please **review **with reactions, critiques, or compliments.


	2. Stability

_Imbalance _by Nsu-Yeul

**Chapter Two: Stability**

Outside my window, a warm breeze picked up, drawing back Riku's silver bangs. No longer obscured, the fullness of his expression revealed a grave concern. Maybe even fear. The streetlamps beside the house cast black shadows over the dark pavement, just steps away where he stood. For a moment, the shadows seemed to shudder in agitation. I shook my head vigorously, airing out any flashbacks from my nightmare.

There was no tin room around me. There was no echoing clink of pebbles. There was no reason for my heart to still be racing.

"Sora, you're alive!" cried Riku. "I drove here, to be sure. It was just a dream then."

"A dream?" I asked. "Was it about… a tin room?"

He shook his head. "We shouldn't shout this from windows. I saw your parents' car in the driveway. Can you come down?"

Quickly slipping into a pair of flip-flops, I figured my t-shirt and shorts were as good as anything this late at night. With a few steps across the bed, I reached the window. Shimmying down the brick wall was an old pastime. Before the heart of Destiny Islands fell to darkness, Riku, Kairi, and I used to sneak out to the beach just past the cliffs by my house. My mouth lifted into a smile at the thought of it. We would kick at the waves sparkling with sunset and share our hopes for an adventurous future.

The soles of my flip-flops crunched against the stray sand on the pavement. Before I could turn to face him, Riku gently took hold of my arm, pulling me toward him. "You're okay," he said, more to himself.

"What happened to you?"

"Not here." He gestured to the beach with the tilt of his head. "Come on."

I thought of my open window and how I couldn't shut it from the outside. "All right, if you insist."

We stepped off the road, toward the cliffs. A steep path wound its way through the jagged hills to the ocean, like a snake lying on a flight of stairs. During the day, the path was easily navigable, but in the darkness, even with a waxing moon and bright stars, we had to move slowly. While Riku had on a pair of sneakers, my flip-flops offered little traction. More than once, I had to grab his arm to stop a fall. He never so much as chuckled at my clumsiness.

We broke out of the cliffs just as a wave crashed against the shore in front of us. Riku seemed content to keep walking forever. More than a little impatient, I snatched his elbow. His body went still as though sinking in the sand.

"What was your dream about?" I asked. "We're far enough now, right?"

I could barely make out his profile in the midnight. Only the moon and stars gave light to the beach. Sometimes, whenever Riku fell into one of his quiet spells, especially after dark, a thread of anxiety knotted itself in my chest—some secret worry that he would be swallowed by the darkness again.

"It doesn't actually matter," he said before turning to me with an unreadable expression. Finally face-to-face once more, I released his arm. "It was just a nightmare. Coming to the beach just made me realize how paranoid I'm being."

"How'd the beach do that?" I couldn't help but laugh a little at his remark.

Smirking, Riku took a seat, his fingers digging shallow tunnels into the sand. I followed suit, stretching my legs out. The shore scratched against my calves in its old familiar way.

"The ocean…" he said. "All of this—it's just nothing like what the world I saw in my dream."

The stars flickered above us, winking reminders of the worlds beyond Destiny Islands. "What world?"

"Not any we've ever been to. It was all light. Blinding white light with no beginning and no end. And you were there…" He paused, bending his elbows over arched knees, resting his forehead in one hand. "You collapsed, like you'd been hit over the head. I watched you being dragged away into the light. Your legs disappeared; then all that was left was your feet. Then, nothing, and I couldn't stop any of it. It felt like the light was hurting me. I could actually feel the pain, and I couldn't move. I couldn't help you."

"But you woke up," I said quickly, trying to fight back the rising terror in my gut. "It was just a dream. You drove all the way over here, and look, I'm awake and stable."

He scoffed and met my eyes. "Stable, huh? Not like before, when I found you locked up in the Memory Pod. Yeah… you seem okay." He pushed me tentatively, as though to be sure. Thrown off balance, I had to catch myself with one hand.

Riku jumped up and dusted the sand off his jeans. I wanted to tell him about my own dream, but his face seemed at peace now, his own nightmare a faraway memory. We stared at the ocean for a moment of silence. Then, with an outstretched hand, he spoke:

"Let's go. It's late."

I took his hand. As he helped me up, our clasp felt rough with sand but strong. "So much for saving the beach for tomorrow," I joked.

"We'll just have to keep this from Kairi."

"Deal."

The cliffs were less cumbersome on the way up. Not that my foot slipped any less, but the atmosphere felt calmer, as though a cool wind had doused a heavy humidity. Once we reached the house, neither of us seemed ready to say goodbye.

"You'll be climbing back up now?" Riku asked awkwardly, lifting a stiff arm toward the window.

"Guess so…"

"How about I go with you, to your room, just to make sure it's safe in there?" he offered. He turned his nose to the ground, as if the question embarrassed him. Our time in the other worlds had shown me Riku's protective side. Even so, he rarely admitted it, and now, as he stumbled over his words, I couldn't help but smile.

"That would be nice," I told him. "Your dream spooked me a little." As well as my own, I thought.

Drowsiness swept over me as we scaled the wall, but I managed to hoist myself through the open window. Riku followed close behind. Scrambling onto the bed, my body sagged into the mattress. I'd hardly slept so far, and what little rest I'd gotten had been damaged by the nightmare. My eyelids fluttered shut on their accord.

Taking notice of my exhaustion, Riku nudged me back to life. "Already falling asleep on me?" he teased. He nudged me again; more to annoy me since I'd already reopened my eyes. I grabbed his wrist, closed my eyes again, and mumbled something about how it was past my bedtime, though even I could tell it was unintelligible.

I was a good way into sleep, when Riku woke me once more. "Sora," he whispered in a tone like a feather brushing sand, "I want to stay here tonight. Just in case."

Just in case someone came to drag me away into the light. Riku, with a heart of darkness, wouldn't be able to reach me if I were taken there.

"Of course."

After retrieving an extra quilt from the closet, he grabbed a pillow straight off my bed. We'd stayed in each other's rooms before, growing up side-by-side on the islands. Still, this would be the first time since our battles against the darkness. As Riku settled himself on the floor next to my bed, I wondered at all that had changed in our lives. My last thought before drifting off was of the Realm of Darkness.

"_If the word is made of light and darkness, we'll be the darkness,"_ Riku had said that day, but we'd made it home.

* * *

><p>Had the darkness come with us?<p>

When I woke, my memories of the night flitted about in my mind, but they seemed distant, like the trembling shadow of a moth's wings. The morning sun poured over me, announcing the new day. I felt refreshed. Swinging my feet over the bed, I remembered the beach plans Riku and I had made with Kairi.

Beside my feet, the extra quilt and pillow lay twisted in a pile on the floor. My window was still locked from the inside. My bedroom door was closed. As my heart stilled to the faded murmur, I tried to comprehend how, but I couldn't make sense of it.

Riku was gone.

* * *

><p>AN: Just a reminder that this story is not going to align with any games after KHII. Please **review** with any comments, critiques, questions, or compliments.


	3. White

_Imbalance _by Nsu-Yeul

**Chapter Three: White**

Riku had disappeared, leaving no trace but the tangled blankets. Still in the same shorts and tee, I grabbed my flip-flops and headed out the bedroom door. Heavy footfalls down the stairway drew my parents' attention from below.

"Sora!" my mom shouted from the kitchen. "You're finally awake?"

On my way into the kitchen, I glanced at a clock on the wall: nearly ten in the morning. Turning a corner, I rushed through the kitchen doorframe. My father sat at the table, nose bent toward a magazine of some kind. A cup of coffee steamed near his right hand. Toast popped up from the toaster, just in front of my mother. A stream of golden sunlight bounced off the yellow wallpaper. Everything seemed perfect, natural—as it should be. But someone was still missing.

"Have you seen…" I stopped, remembering that my parents hadn't seen Riku come in the previous night. They would want an explanation for his midnight appearance. Questions might come up that shouldn't be answered. Neither of them knew about the war against darkness, or even the near-death of the islands. I returned home and all had returned to normal. Except for Riku's parents and their unexplained disappearance.

"Seen what? I just finished a load of laundry, so maybe what you're looking for is in the dryer." My mom distractedly piled the toast on a plate before handing it to me. Riku had obviously never entered her line of sight this morning. "Butter and jam are on the table. If you want more, there are still some boiled eggs in the fridge."

"Thanks." So as not to seem suspicious, I took a seat at the table and hastily spread some jam with a butter-knife. My father asked me how I'd slept, to which I plainly lied. I needed to escape, to run out and see if Riku had made it out of my room, or if something more sinister had stolen him away.

Having defeated the darkness, one would think I'd be able to live freely. However, as the spring days grew longer, an irksome anticipation also grew somewhere deep within me. Darkness continued to exist, somewhere in the worlds. Under the sun's glow, shadows were born, extending into twisted forms. Who was I to believe that a blackened mind would never come around to harvest the darkness once again?

After all, the darkness still festered in Riku's heart.

The toast scratched my dry throat, but I didn't have time to wash it down with any water. My chair scraped against the floor as I quickly took leave from the room. My parents were unfazed, used to my unexplained goings-on.

Just to be sure that there would be no questions asked, I shouted my departure, "Going to the beach with Riku and Kairi. I'll see you two when you're back from work." The front door slammed behind me.

Sudden exposure to the sun slashed at my eyes like a paper cut on thin skin. A few seconds later, my pupils adjusted, taking in the clear blue sky, vast and cloudless like the ocean. I walked down the driveway, in case my parents could see me from a window, but once I was out of sight, my stride switched to a jog. If I could find the tracks of Riku's motorbike, then I would know whether or not he'd taken off without notice.

Maybe he hadn't wanted to wake me. Maybe he'd slipped out before my parents had risen from bed. Maybe he didn't realize how much I worried about him.

Off the road, on the sandy dirt, I discovered a motorbike track. With hope blossoming in my chest, I followed it. When the tracks turned a curve toward the cliffs, my hopes began to dwindle. Even Riku wouldn't be able to drive through that kind of terrain. Still, I continued forward, wishing only to find him.

As I reached the top of a hill, from which I could see an entrance to the cliffs, I paused to take in the surroundings. To my surprise, Riku stood only a few yards away, leaning against his motorbike as though he waited there for me often. Inwardly, I tsked myself, trying to ignore the flood of relief that filled my limbs.

With renewed vigor, I ran down the hill, while calling out to him: "Riku! Where have you been?"

Pushing himself off the bike, he greeted me with a nonchalant grin. "I've just been sitting here."

"Yeah, well, why here? You took off without notice!"

"I needed some air, and I didn't feel like explaining things to your parents."

"Well, how'd you get out?" I asked.

"The front door."

I crossed my arms, frustrated with the simplicity of it all. Riku laughed and rested a heavy hand on my shoulder. "My nightmare really got to you, huh? It's morning now. Nothing bad is gonna happen."

"Easy for you to say. You could've at least left a note!" At this point, I'd decided to joke along with Riku. Laughter always healed the jitters, after all.

"_Dear Sora, I hope this doesn't make you uncomfortable_," he mocked, "_but I went outside._ Sound good?"

"Perfect. I'll expect that next time."

"Okay." He chuckled then threw one leg over the motorbike. "I have a few things to settle at home first—a few chores and phone calls. After that, I'll meet you and Kairi at the beach. Which one are we going to?"

"Since it's Kairi, my best bet is Turtle Egg Beach."

"See you there," he said, swinging a leg over the bike. With a quick nod in my direction, he turned the key in the ignition, walked the motorbike toward the road, and jetted away. His silhouette became a black speck on the morning's horizon before disappearing altogether.

* * *

><p>White sand cascaded down the shore of Turtle Egg Beach, like a bolt of silk had been rolled out before the waves. The ocean sparkled an almost-translucent blue in the afternoon sun. My swim shorts brushed against my knees as I ran through this welcoming expanse toward Kairi and Riku. They had already arrived and spread a towel beneath a beach umbrella. Kairi waved excitedly, her knees facing each other in a cute pigeon-toed style. Riku had on a wet suit. His aqua surfboard rested beside the towel.<p>

When I finally reached them, Kairi shouted, "You're always the last one to arrive!"

"I'm on time, aren't I? You said noon in the email."

"I know," she laughed. "Still, you're always last."

"He can't help it," said Riku, a cocky smile hanging on his lips like a crooked crescent moon. "It's his way of making an impression."

"Well, it works then."

I playfully pushed Riku with the palm of my hand. "That had better be a good impression!"

He didn't answer but his smile remained intact. There was a time, not so long ago, when I thought I'd never see that smile again. Riku turned his attention toward the ocean. A sea breeze caught his hair, which fluttered like white feathers freed from a bird's wing. His lips upturned, his body at ease—I would do just about anything to guard this part of Riku, no matter the cost.

"How about a race?" exclaimed Kairi, breaking the tranquil atmosphere. Riku's arms and legs tensed, already kneeling into a runner's stance. "From here to the tide pools. I want to see if I can find any starfish."

"It's not much of a competition," Riku said in a self-assured tone, "but I'm all in."

"Just you wait and see," I challenged. Taking my place beside him, I bent my knees slightly, ready for Kairi to initiate the race. With a decisive slice of her hand in the air, we took off. Kairi quickly fell behind us, her laughter drifting through the air—bells on the wind.

Determined to win, I decided to match Riku's pace instead of trying to overtake him immediately. Whenever I tried to gain the advantage in the beginning, I would always tire out right near the finish line; then, he'd pass me without even casting a sideways glance in my direction. This time would be different. Neck-and-neck, we tossed ourselves onward.

The sun beat down on us dramatically, as though doing its best to slow us down with the heat. In the distance, I could make out the old lifeguard tower. Abandoned long ago, the iron structure's creaking traveled to us even though we were still several yards away. Covered in rust, the old tower couldn't so much as gleam in the overwhelming sunlight.

Knowing that we'd reached the halfway point, I figured now would be the time to speed up. I might be able to maintain my lead all the way to the tide pools, and Riku wouldn't be expecting me to change my pace at this point. Thrusting my legs forward with little abandon, I quickly passed him. To my surprise, Riku didn't alter his speed in the slightest. Before I could ponder his lack of ambition, or possible underhanded strategy, something from the lifeguard tower caught my eye.

A bright glinting reflected from beneath the bungalow—odd since usually the underbelly of the tower cooled the sand with its shadow. As I neared the tower, the flashing intensified. Despite my growing lead in the race, I slowed to a stop. An increasing uneasiness rattled against my chest.

The glinting didn't seem to have any origin, bursting out in bits and pieces from various parts of the sand. Even stranger, the shadow that the tower always cast in the midday sun was absent. Blinding hot sand surrounded me on all sides. The white flashes of light seemed to have overcome all darkness. My eyes squinted against the imbalance.

Leaning forward, I placed a hand against the sand. Snakes of pain jolted up my arm, like invisible lightning. A cry escaped my lips as I fell backward. My head made hard contact with one of the tower's iron poles before I slumped to the ground. I could no longer tell if the glinting lights were from the sand or from the pain, which hadn't left my limbs.

I felt arms around my shoulders. "Sora!" came Riku's panicked voice, but I couldn't make him out. Only white light filled my vision—no contrast. White, as the sand I could no longer see.

White, as blank eyes rolled backwards in their sockets.

* * *

><p>AN: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this cliffhanger. Let me know what you think or if you notice any grammatical/spelling errors.


	4. Consequences

_Imbalance _by Nsu-Yeul

**Chapter Four: Consequences**

My mind slowly turned back on. I could hear muffled voices in the distance, the clank of a coffee mug hitting a countertop, a faucet running. The space beneath me was soft. A comfortable pillow propped my head up. I felt all these things. I heard all these things. Yet, I saw nothing but white, beaming at me like a too-bright computer screen. The muscles behind my eyes ached from the glare.

"Hello?" I called out, hoping that one of the distant voices would hear me. The rustling of pants filled my ears as someone drew near. A cold palm graced my forehead, making me realize how my skin burned.

"He's not looking at me," said Riku stoicly. Perhaps he was speaking to the other voice I heard. "Sora," he added, "can you see me?"

"No… I can't see anything." As the words tumbled out, so did a few tears. I tried my best to hold them in, but the fear leaked out from my pained eyes. "Riku…"

He grasped my hand, which I found somewhat soothing. No one spoke another word, until my crying spell finished. The pads of Riku's fingertips brushed away the stray tears from my feverish cheeks.

"You're safe," came a quiet voice that I recognized as Kairi's. "We're not at the beach anymore. Riku managed to carry you to his place on his motorbike, and I walked the way. I'm so glad you're awake." She couldn't hide the worry from her last statement. I wondered how long I'd been out. Maybe the possibility of a coma had entered their minds?

"What time is it?" I asked.

"The sun's already set," Riku answered. "It's dark now."

"Dark…" The memory of unbearable light thrust itself upon me—the pain, the scalding fire it brought. I would have never thought that light could wound me. Even the brightest light from Kingdom Hearts, the very same power that destroyed Xehanort's Heartless, had not harmed me. If anything, the glare gave me strength. Now, my body felt lifeless, my eyes useless.

As my attention was brought back to my blindness, a miracle worked its way into my vision. Slowly, shapes formed in front of me, shadows growing stronger in the light. First, I made out the gray couch cushions around me. Then, Kairi's face appeared. Her purple irises trembled with concern. Next came the fuzzy outlines of furniture and the light fixtures dangling from the ceiling. Finally, Riku came into view. As his cerulean eyes locked with mine, understanding wrote itself into his expression.

"I'm here," he murmured.

"I can see again!" I exclaimed, jumping up into a seated position. Dizziness washed over me, wrenching my gut with nausea.

"Don't sit up so quickly!" Kairi cautioned a bit too late. "You've been through enough already."

I didn't need to be told twice. As I leaned back into the pillows, a small moan escaped my lips. The spinning in my head forced me to close my newly healed eyes. Back in blindness—but the normal, dark kind. Gone was the bright whiteness. I hoped forever.

Once my stomach settled down, I refocused on my friends. Their faces were stoic, yet kind.

"Well…" Kairi said, "What happened back there?"

I realized how much patience it must have required for them to hold back their questions. Out of true concern, they'd waited until my blindness reversed itself and until the nausea had subsided. Suddenly, gratitude swept over me—the kind that a simple "thank you" could never satisfy. These two close friends—both of whom I had at one time thought lost—must have confronted the possibility that they'd lost_ me._

"I'm not sure what happened," came my tentative reply. "I saw light. Really, really bright light. It was under the lifeguard tower, and when I went to check it out, it burned me or something. It hurt, a lot, and it took me over—my whole body, my eyesight. Everything was white hot light."

"That's different." Kairi said this so matter-off-factly that I wondered if she meant to say it out loud at all. On the other hand, Riku seemed distracted, almost detached from the conversation. All his attention was directed toward the window and the night sky. Impassiveness had taken over his expression. Still, I couldn't help but suspect that the gears in his head were turning. I knew from experience that the quieter Riku became, the louder his inner-voice had grown.

Unable to take his silence much longer, I interrupted his thoughts: "Well, what about you, Riku?"

"Me what?"

"What do you think about what happened to me?"

His gaze slid to mine, and for a moment I saw it—fear manifesting as a bit lip—but then it disappeared, locked away inside a box called composure. "I think it's too early to tell. You're okay now. What's left is for all of us to stay alert. Watch out for anything like what Sora just described."

"And if we're lucky," Kairi said cheerfully, "then, maybe this was just a one-time incident."

With a slow nod, Riku acquiesced. After another glance to the window, he added, "It's getting late. You two had better head home before your parents worry. Need a lift?"

"Nah," I answered truthfully. "I feel good as new now." As though to prove my point, I jumped up from the couch. No nausea, no blindness—just regular old me. I breathed a sigh of relief that I hadn't even noticed I'd been holding.

"We can walk back together, yeah?" Kairi nodded in response.

"Well, it's about thirty minutes," said Riku. "I'm not going to fight you. I have other things to take care of, like homework."

I smacked my forehead with my hand. "I forgot! Since I already did the astrophysics assignment last night, I completely forgot about history!"

The two of them laughed. "Physics or no physics," giggled Kairi, "You haven't changed a bit."

* * *

><p>The rest of the weekend went by uneventfully. Before Sunday came to a close, my homework lay in a completed pile on my desk. Both nights, Riku called right before going to bed, just to check if I was all right.<p>

"Call if anything happens." That's what he said both times before hanging up. It felt like an omen of another nightmare, or that I would wake up in the middle of the night, suddenly unable to see.

But nothing happened. With each night came undisturbed sleep. By Monday morning, the events at Turtle Egg Beach seemed as far away as my first flight in Neverland, as distant as the starry worlds in the dark sky.

* * *

><p>"It's time to move beyond silly musings and dive deep into real philosophy."<p>

Professor Nabaat swooped around her desk, pacing back and forth like a bird of prey. Her blond braid whipped around menacingly behind her. A sharp slap sounded each time she tapped her book, _The Theory of Imbalance_, against her palm. Apparently her confidence was high enough to call her own book real philosophy.

Her pacing ceased. With a stern look, she assessed the class. "Have you ever heard the saying, 'Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing'?"

No one answered, yet all eyes were on her. She interpreted our attention as understanding and continued, "This is the easiest example of imbalance. If we have too many bad things, then we're miserable. If we have too many good things, we are still miserable. Only once we near the center of the spectrum, with a decent balance of both good and bad, can we feel satisfied. Open your texts to page five."

Quickly retrieving _The Theory of Imbalance _from my bag, I turned to the fifth page. Square in the middle was a definition.

"Riku," she snapped, pointing her book in his direction. "Read the page out loud."

Riku stood, his towering figuring looming over me. "'Imbalance, the state or condition of lacking equilibrium, as in proportion or distribution.'"

"So I guess that answers your question from our first class. Imbalance can refer to either distribution or proportion and both, if off-balance, can be thought of as disequilibrium.

I had to fight the urge to beat my own head in. Why did it seem like everyone else, especially Riku, understood what Nabaat was saying? I read and reread the definition. What did proportion mean in this context? Not wanting to look unintelligent, I kept my mouth closed.

"Continue reading," commanded Nabaat. "There's a second definition."

Riku cleared his throat, making me wondering if Nabaat had managed to get under his skin as well. "Imbalance, the state or condition of lacking steadiness or stability."

"Can anyone come up with an example of this?"

Serah Farron raised her hand. As Nabaat called on her, Riku sank back into his chair. I cast him a sideways look. To my surprise, our eyes actually met. He seemed to be trying to tell me something, but my nonverbal communication had never been very good. Giving up, he resorted to placing a heavy hand on my shoulder.

"Well, lacking steadiness or stability…" came Serah's voice. She stumbled a little, clearly unsure of the right answer to Nabaat's question but still willing to give it a try. "That could be, like, if your parents divorced. Before, there was a balance—two parents. Then, there's only one with you, and it's not very steady or stable anymore. At least in the beginning."

We all knew that Serah's parents had never been divorced, but that her father and mother had passed away in a sailing accident back in grade school. Nabaat, however, was not privy to this information. She appraised Serah with trepidation. Even the strict philosophy professor didn't want to open up a can of worms.

"Good example," she said after a pause. "There is imbalance and instability in your hypothetical. But that is taking away a product—or a person. Can imbalance be acquired by adding something?"

"Too much light," I said aloud, without thinking. Everyone stared at me. I hadn't even raised my hand. A blush crept into my cheeks as I tried to avoid everyone's gaze. Unfortunately, Nabaat took an interest in my response.

"What do you mean...?" She trailed off, clearly searching for my name.

I stood hastily, my chair scraping on the floor behind me. "Sora." She nodded and repeated her question. "Well, we all like light, um, even sunlight, or lamps, or even a flashlight. We don't usually think about what would happen if there was too much of it." The recollection of the light beneath the lifeguard tower encroached upon me, hurting my body with its mere memory. "Darkness can go on forever, but what if it were the same with light?"

Nabaat crossed her arms. Beyond the window, the sun burst from behind a cloud. Its beams reflected on her glasses, masking her eyes with light. "Well, then, Sora, it sounds like you have an intriguing theory going on there. Too much light. What would that be like?"

The class remained silent. All I wanted to do was sit back down. I couldn't even dare a glance in Riku's direction.

A sharp slap resounded through the room as Nabaat once again smacked her book into the palm of her hand. "I want everyone to pick their favorite thing. For the rest of the period, think about what would happen if you had too much of it. And before you think you're off the hook, I want the first chapter of _The Theory of Imablance _annotated by Wednesday."

The class groaned collectively. My favorite thing? The prompt seemed more than a little vague. I didn't put much weight in objects. The most important things to me in all the worlds were the people I loved. To my left, Riku had already written the first paragraph of his essay.

Then, it hit me. It was Riku—more than anything else, Riku had made the greatest impression in my heart. His presence gave me hope; his loss left me hollow. Losing him to darkness, then rediscovering him, stronger than ever, had brought me to tears. I remembered grasping his hand in the Castle That Never Was, crying out to him on bended knee.

"_I looked for you! I looked everywhere for you!"_

I realized, now, more than anything, the one thing I wanted was for Riku to stay here, with me.

It was an odd way to answer Professor Nabaat's prompt, but now that the idea had entered my brain, there was no way I'd get around it. I had to finish the assignment after all. What would happen if I had too much Riku in my life? Well, I would probably never get any sleep with him visiting me at my window at the slightest whim. I might end up in a motorbike accident, and my studies would never get done because all I'd want to do in life would be to beat him in a race.

I chuckled. Hopefully, Nabaat wouldn't actually read our responses.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Thanks for reading. How are you all keeping up with the storyline? It can be confusing, so if you need any clarification, let me know. Also, please point out any spelling/grammatical errors.


	5. Pale

_Imbalance _by Nsu-Yeul

**Chapter Five: Pale**

The spring days were lengthening, making the weeks that led to summer vacation drag on and on. To make matters worse, Destiny Prep's air conditioning had cut out. Fans rotated above our heads, uselessly circulating the heat. The pages in our astrophysics books crackled as a dry breeze floated in from the open windows.

Usually astronomical physics was my favorite class period. It was my only elective, which I'd picked to my friends' disbelief. Math had never been my biggest strength, and I'd spilled more than one toxic mixture in chemistry, but that was all before.

Before. I'd heard my classmates use the term throughout their days. "Let's go to the bathroom before the bell rings." "I want to go to the beach before it gets dark!" "I used to like that ice cream brand before the recipe changed." Whether they referred to the distant past or one minute ago, their sense of 'before' carried the same weight. To me, the word signified the life I led before I learned about my destiny as Keyblade Bearer. Before that day, I cared about the immediate: friendships, family, sports, or childhood dreams. Afterward, my priorities changed, my life changed. I changed.

The stars held more mystery in them now. Before, a falling star meant nothing more than a silly wish. Now, the night sky called out to me like a map. In those tiny bits of light that dotted a seemingly empty vacuum of space, there were promises of countless worlds.

What did Destiny Islands know about these worlds? Did it align to what I'd discovered? Could I help the Islands make the advances necessary to break out of its small existence and into infinite possibilities?

However, on days like this, when the heat was stifling and my eyes watched the clock more than my own textbook, I found my thoughts straying away from all the reasons I loved astrophysics. Instead, frustrations bubbled up. How many times did I have to keep silent when people described the stars as only balls of gas with no population? How many times had my heart twisted when imaginative peers brought up green aliens with fifty eyes? Little did they know, it only got as weird as talking mice.

"So this is another example why we need more funds poured into research on extrasolar planets." Even Professor Estheim, with his youthful enthusiasm, had visibly wilted in the heat. His voice sounded as brittle as a termite-infested piece of driftwood. "What goes on beyond our sun's reach is still largely unexplored."

Sweat dripped from his silver hair into his light eyes. His expression shifted from dull to defeated. "That's enough lecture for today. Just peruse your notes for the rest of the period." Just as he started erasing his notes, he added, "And be careful at the Moon Carnival this weekend. A few stars seemed to have disappeared from the astronomy tower's telescopes this week. I've never felt like that was a good sign."

While most of my classmates rolled their eyes at Estheim's superstition, I sat stunned, eyes glued to his back. My heart froze over, as though a cold breeze had broken through the suffocating atmosphere and pierced my chest.

Disappearing stars? Images of Leon's gang, King Mickey, and Belle and Beast flickered through my brain. It could have been any of them, gone in a flash. It could be us next. Why?

Every night, fear peeked at us from behind the pale moon.

* * *

><p>I could hardly gather the will to return to my homeroom for the school day's end. Rummaging through my messenger bag, I located my textbooks, then my organizer, then my textbook again. Anything to extend the time. I dreaded telling Riku about the potential new threat to the worlds.<p>

My classmates had already exited, leaving me alone with Estheim. As his footsteps approached my chair, I hastily snapped shut my bag. Sure I was lagging, but a private audience with my professor had not been my intention.

"Your exam came back with a perfect score," he said. Estheim was surprisingly young for an astrophysics teacher. Where most would expect an aged, bespectacled professor, there lay Estheim's youthful expression and mannerisms. His silver hair framed smooth skin. Clearly, he hadn't even seen his thirties. My mother told me that he'd graduated from Destiny University before leaving his teen years; so clearly he was some kind of scientific prodigy.

He continued, "Pretty impressive, Sora. Have you been looking into university yet? Thought about a course of study?"

To be honest, I hadn't. College, career, or any usual track in life never appealed to me. I enjoyed astrophysics; I didn't hate school. But the worlds and the Keyblade were my true passions. How could I explain that to Estheim, though?

"I've been weighing my options," I said.

"Well, I would be lying if I didn't tell you that you could have a bright future in physics. I noticed that you're not a part of any clubs. Would you consider the science club? I'm the advisor, and I think you would be a great addition."

I respected Estheim, but joining a club took up a lot of free time, and I was a pretty outdoorsy kind of guy. "I'll think about it," I said honestly and headed for the door.

* * *

><p>With artificial confidence, I stepped in my homeroom, but to my surprise, Riku was absent. Combing through my memory, I recalled a casual aside from him that morning—something about an appointment with a university professor. Even Riku had his mind set on college? Since when had I become the one longing to escape the islands for new worlds?<p>

A little disappointed, I took my seat, preparing for dismissal. I would just have to tell Riku, and Kairi, about the disappearing stars at tonight's festival.

* * *

><p>The Moon Carnival spanned the length of Main Street, from one end of the big island to the other. Food booths, games, crafts, and even outdoor art galleries lined the street. Traffic was completely closed off, allowing passersby to walk freely. Stringed lights hung from lamppost to lamppost, spreading white light from little orbs. The largest moon of the year stared down on the spectators, blinding us in its massive brightness.<p>

The carnival-goers were clearly entranced by the lights and ambience. Couples held hands as they paced the booths at leisure. Children bounced up and down, gasping at the floating miniature full moons hanging from the lampposts. High school students played for prizes at juvenile ball-tosses and rubber-duck games. On the other hand, as I waited for Riku and Kairi at the cross street of Main & Iris, I could only keep my eyes down. The bright moon and neon lights agitated a headache I'd somehow picked up between school's dismissal and now.

"Hey, Sora!" Kairi stepped forward from the crowds. Her auburn hair was pulled into a ponytail with a pink ribbon. Ditching her uniform, she'd opted for blue jeans and a pink tank top. Her Wayfinder hung from a simple chain around her throat, like a necklace charm.

"Hey, you made it. Riku hasn't arrived yet. He's probably just taking his time."

"Well, he probably had to find parking for his motorbike." Never one to egg on our rivalry, Kairi kept things neutral.

"True," I said, picking my battles. Another wave of pain pulsed through my head. I closed my eyes, trying to shut out the lights for a moment.

"Sora, are you all right?" Kairi asked in a soft voice.

I opened my eyes in surprise. She picked up on my mood pretty fast. "Yeah, I just have a slight headache. I'll be fine."

"Where does it hurt?"

"I don't know." I thought for a moment. "Well, maybe it's turning into a migraine, 'cause it kind of hurts right behind my eyes."

Kairi's eyebrows shot up in alarm. "Can you see okay? Are things bright?"

Realizing the connection she was making to my blind-spell from last week, I shook my head. "It's not like that. Things aren't any brighter than they would be during a normal migraine."

"But still…"

"Hey guys!" Riku called from a distance, interrupting our conversation. Despite the heat, he'd worn a mock-neck, black long-sleeve with black shorts. As he approached, I realized it wasn't a shirt but a rash guard.

"You went out surfing?" I asked.

He laughed. "I had some free time when I got home."

"You know, Kairi tried to stick up for you, saying you were late because of parking. I knew better though."

"I got here in plenty of time. It _was_ the parking's fault that I'm late. This place is packed."

"Whatever." I tossed a glance in Kairi's direction. While she didn't look too pleased, I could tell that she'd decided to give up on our previous subject. I breathed a sigh of relief. I didn't need Riku worrying about me, too.

"Well, what should we do first?" she asked, to which Riku shrugged nonchalantly.

"I'm hungry!" I declared.

"You're always hungry," Kairi giggled. "Let's find some good food then."

We started down the street, checking out booths selling fresh fruit, grilled fish, and cream puffs. We finally decided on some fish ball noodle soup. After handing over ten munny each, a server from behind the booth ladled the delicious-smelling soup into three Styrofoam bowls.

Carefully, we carried the bowls to an empty table. Steam rose from the broth, making me a little nervous to start eating, but daring a first sip, I found the heat bearable and the soup itself better than expected for a carnival booth. Sweat dripped from our brows as we dug in.

In truth, I couldn't be happier, having soup with my friends at the Moon Carnival. Simple moments like this had seemed universes away during our missions in the other worlds. While enjoying a festival with Kairi was pleasant enough, getting to spend the time with Riku felt almost unimaginable. Riku noticed my stare, and a smile lifted his lips, like a small crescent moon. With embarrassment, I remembered my essay in Professor Nabaat's class. While I'd gotten a little carried away with my answer, I still couldn't deny how important Riku had become to me. After years of searching for him, I couldn't shake the feeling that he would slip between my fingers, disappearing again one unsuspecting night. Instead of filling me with dread, this uncertainty only made our moments together more meaningful.

Having finished the soup earlier than my friends, I took to people-watching again. A middle-school girl smiled in delight as a boy handed her a stuffed bear at the water balloon game. A small toddler, walking next to his mother, was jumping up-and-down to try and catch a tall woman's long, familiar-looking braid. Trailing her hair to her face, I recognized her immediately.

"Isn't that… Professor Nabaat?" I said aloud.

Looking up from his soup, Riku followed my gaze to the woman. "Yeah, I guess it is. Everyone on the Islands comes to the carnival."

"Oh, she's kind of strict, isn't she?" Kairi added.

"That's an understatement." The lights reflected off her silver braid, hurting my eyes even more. I brought my attention back to the table.

"I think she's intelligent," Riku said. "She brings up new ideas that could do us well. Her theories on imbalance might be useful some day."

I raised a questioning eyebrow. "Riku, I've wondered this since we started at Destiny Prep, so I'm just going to have to ask. How do you find _any_ philosophy applicable to our lives?"

"How do you find astrophysics applicable?" he asked, putting down his spoon haughtily.

"Well, we traveled the worlds in extrasolar galaxies. It could help us protect the worlds."

"Same reason for me, then."

Folding my arms over my chest, I shook my head. "I don't see the connection. With Professor Estheim, I've been learning a lot about asteroids and other objects that could cause us some damage if we go traveling again. And one day, we could really help Destiny Islands learn more about the worlds, and astrophyics is a good place to start."

Having finished her soup, Kairi chimed in: "Sora, I think I see what Riku is getting at though. Astrophysics is good for the worlds on a practical level, but when it comes to philosophy, it could help the worlds on a metaphysical level."

"Think about Xehanort's Reports and Ansem's Reports," Riku added, returning to his soup. "Their musings on the darkness and light of the worlds seemed purely philosophical, but when it comes to the Heartless, and even the Nobodies, philosophy meets reality."

"Okay, but what does that have to do with Nabaat?"

"You said it yourself in her class the other day. One kind of imbalance is too much light, or too much darkness for that matter. We might be able to use her theory to solve issues concerning the worlds."

"That reminds me!" I shouted, accidentally knocking over my empty bowl. "Professor Estheim mentioned something today in class. Apparently, at the astronomy tower this week, several stars disappeared from some extrasolar galaxies."

"What?" Kairi exclaimed, her eyebrows knitted together in concern. "Which stars?"

"I don't know," I replied, righting my bowl. "It's not like Destiny Islands would be aware of the actual worlds in those stars anyway. But I thought maybe we might try to contact King Mickey to get some more information."

"Easier said than done," responded Riku. "It's not as though we have the technology here to send and receive messages to and from his castle's mainframe, and he hasn't sent us a physical messenger in months."

I thought of Pluto, the King's happy-go-lucky dog, who used to bring us the occasional mail from His Majesty but hadn't come around recently. Was that a bad sign or simple coincidence?

Kairi collected our empty bowls, stacking them on top of each other and putting our plastic spoons in the top one. "Then, we'll just have to wait until he comes into contact with us again to relay the message."

"Hopefully it's nothing more than a few random stars dying out," I replied, trying to stay positive. "Maybe the worlds aren't even involved?"

"We'll just have to believe that for now," came Riku's solemn reply.

Jumping to a standing position, bowls in one hand, Kairi waved a chastising finger in our direction. "Enough already! If there's nothing we can do right now, then let's just have fun at the carnival!"

Acquiescing, we followed Kairi as she deposited the bowls in the nearest trash bin and continued on our walk. We passed by the fishbowl and the basketball games without a second thought, but once we crossed paths with one that involved balloons and a dart, Kairi stopped dead in her tracks.

"I want one of those stuffed toys! They're so cute!" She pointed excitedly at the booth's assortment of especially adorable fluffy animals.

"Give it a try, then," I said encouragingly, but Kairi only frowned.

"I'm not good at games like that. I have awful aim with darts."

Riku shrugged. "Well then, I think this could be Sora's department." He nudged me forward with a sharp elbow. I recognized this as some sort of challenge from him and chose to accept.

"Thanks, Sora!" Kairi beamed, clearly oblivious to our plot.

After I paid an exorbitant sum for such a simple game, the booth attendant handed over four darts. The rules were simple: hit three different balloons on the upright board with the four darts. I aimed for a nearby blue balloon first. Aim, shoot—fail. Riku laughed derisively.

"Oh, don't give up, Sora!" Kairi pleaded. She tapped my shoulder with her Wayfinder, wishing me luck.

Focusing once more on the blue balloon, I shot a dart straight into its belly. The moment it popped, Kairi cheered. With newfound confidence, I took aim at a yellow balloon. Quick as a bolt of lightening, the dart knifed the balloon. Picking out another blue balloon, I thrust the dart forward. It barely caught the balloon on its side, but it popped nonetheless. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

"That Wayfinder must really be magical," I told her, "or maybe I'm just talented."

"Must be the talent," Kairi complimented me, clearly ecstatic that I'd won. I cast a cocky grin toward Riku, who only rolled his eyes.

"Well, which one do you want?" Riku asked, pointing to the prizes. Then, to me, he added, "Maybe you should give her the paopu fruit plush?"

My cheeks ignited in a red-hot blush. "N-no, that's weird." Not long ago, it had been my greatest wish to give Kairi a paopu fruit. The thought of permanently intertwining our destinies used to give me chills, but time had passed. While I still wanted to stay beside her, the romantic notion behind the fruit no longer seemed relevant to our friendship. Our childhood crush had dissipated. My feelings had changed somewhere out there in the worlds.

That didn't stop Riku from making things uncomfortable, though. "Anyway," I added, trying to diffuse the awkwardness, "you like these new kitten dolls, right Kairi? Isn't it your cell phone charm?"

"Wow, you noticed!"

Riku smirked, clearly feeling as though he'd won some small sort of victory. Ignoring him, I handed the kitten doll to Kairi, who hugged it tightly. With a child-like attention span, she skipped away from the booth toward a new activity.

"Let's try the funhouse next," she said. "I heard it's full of creepy mirrors."

Agreeing that it would be an interesting next stop, we made our way to the funhouse. A misshapen, transient building, one-story in height, stood as a comical parody of a haunted house. We paid the attendant a small bit of munny for entry and went in through a doorframe outlined in cheesy caution tape.

Inside was a series of three dimly lit hallways, all leading to the exit no doubt. Riku headed down the middle hallway and Kairi to the right, so I took the left.

"See you on the other side," I called out, as Riku rolled his eyes once more and Kairi waved a hand dismissively.

As expected, each hallway was lined in mirrors. Some made me look shorter, or fatter, or taller. I couldn't help but like the tall one a bit, which made me just about Riku's size.

Surprisingly, as I traveled on, the hallway grew brighter and brighter, shining garish lights into the mirrors. My migraine picked up again, irritated by the reflections of light. Suddenly, I came upon a mirror in the middle of the hallway, almost blocking my path. This mirror had a decorative frame, lined with silver inlay. In its face, I could make out the other mirrors, all reflecting each other, creating the mirage of a never-ending mirror corridor. The illusion was unsettling, as though I could step inside and never come out.

As I stared into the reflection, I noticed a small light toward the end of the corridor-mirage. I squinted, still unsure, but there it was: a misplaced speck of light. Before I could react, it jumped out of the illusion, crashing into a mirror on the wall. Shards of glass exploded into the air. Reflexively, I summoned the Keyblade.

Turning to face the shattered glass, I found a strange creature seizing on the floor. A cone-like head swiveled atop its robust body. While it had no hands, an ivory axe levitated about an inch from its head. The creature glowed, pale yet as candescent as the sun.

As though coming to its senses, the creature righted itself. Neither the Heartless emblem nor that of the Nobody was etched into its chest. Its head swiveled one last time before its eyeballs rested on me, or at least what I assumed to be eyeballs. There were no irises or pupils, just two pallid sclerae.

"What _are _you?" I asked aloud.

The creature took a step forward. Then another. I braced myself with the Keyblade just as it jumped into the air, releasing an ear-piercing screech, like a high-pitched bell. I swung my Keyblade with full force into its glowing belly, sending it crashing back toward the mirror it had already broken.

No sooner than it fell did another beacon of light escape from the silver-inlaid mirror. Another creature propelled itself forward into one of the hallway's mirrors. Glass shattered through the room, but before I could recover, another creature surfaced, sending more shards into the air. Then, another and another. These materializing creatures rushed toward me. It was all I could do to fend them off by blocking their assaults with the Keyblade. Even as I struggled against them, I heard the sound of mirrors breaking as more creatures emerged.

As terror gripped my gut, a cry for help escaped my lips: "Riku! Kairi!" I swung my Keyblade in a desperate circle around me. "The enemy!"

* * *

><p>AN: As a heads-up, I've been posting three "fun" facts about each chapter on my Author Profile page. Please review this new chapter; it was pretty long, but I hope it was pretty interesting! Also, it's very helpful when reviewers point out spelling or grammar errors or any inconsistency between chapters.


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